Florida Legislators Seek to Reform Child Labor Laws
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set federal baselines for what constitutes acceptable working conditions for youth under 18 – laws that prevent kids from operating dangerous machinery like meat processors or working on rooftops. Many of the regulations deal with scheduling and school times – kids under sixteen are not allowed to work certain hours during the school year.
States can bolster these protections, as Florida has over the years. For example, state law mandates that minors under 17 cannot work more than 4 hours in a row without a break.
Now, The Florida legislature is looking to follow the lead of other states like Arkansas, New Hampshire and New Jersey, which in recent years have loosened state laws that regulate the employment of minors.
Florida’s Senate Bill 918 was filed by GOP Senator Jay Collins, who represents a large swath of Tampa. The House version of the bill was filed by Monique Miller, a Republican representing a healthy chunk of Brevard County. If passed, the bills would allow children as young as fourteen to work overnight shifts, even on school nights. Current Florida law caps night-time work for minors at 11pm on school nights. The new law would also allow employers to schedule kids for more than 30 hours a week, schedule during school hours and eliminate mandatory breaks.
The effort to roll back youth labor restrictions has the support of Governor DeSantis, who touched on the topic while speaking at an immigration roundtable last week.
The bills have both labor advocates and educators concerned about the impact these laws could have if abused by exploitive employers. The Florida Policy Institute is an independent, non-partisan non-profit advocating for improvements to economic equality in Florida. Earlier this week, they offered testimony before the Florida House Industries and Professional Activities Subcommittee that this bill would be harmful to the development and education of Florida’s youth.
Engage spoke about these bills with Holly Bullard, Chief Strategy and Development Officer with the Florida Policy Institute.
We invited both Senator Jay Collins and Representative Monique Miller to join us to discuss their bills. We never heard from Miller’s staff, but we did get a written statement from Senator Collin’s aide that said:
“This is about trusting parents—not government—with decisions about their own kids. This bill gives families the freedom to decide when their teenagers can work, while still keeping basic guardrails in place. It lines Florida up with federal law and removes red tape that held back motivated young people who want to earn a paycheck and build real-world experience. There are no mandates in this bill just more options for families— it puts the choice back where it belongs: with the family not the government.”
We also invited representatives from the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association – the primary trade association supporting this legislation. We received no response.
Trans Doe Task Force Aids Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Identifying Unknown Transgender Murder Victim
On September 25th, 1988, a Lake County man was scavenging wood by the side of a rural road near Clermont when he came upon a set of human remains.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office took on the investigation and initially determined the body to be that of a female’s, between the ages of 22 and 35. The investigators learned a lot from the body – the victim had received breast implants – no later than 1984. She had had a nose job. She had long, blonde hair and manicured nails. She was wearing a green tank top and denim skirt when she died. Scarring on her pelvic bone told detectives that she had given birth – maybe multiple times. The body had been by the road between two and four weeks. But the remains told the investigators nothing about who she was. She was simply referred to as “Julie Doe” – a moniker cribbed from the film “To Wong Foo, With Love – Julie Newmar.”
For 27 years, the case remained open . . . and cold. In 2015, a DNA profile by the University of Texas of victim revealed a piece of the puzzle that turned the investigation on its head: Julie Doe was born a man.
The investigation shifted gears with this new information – and a new investigatory organization was spawned to address a gap in the way detectives look at crimes.
The Trans Doe Task Force spun off of the similarly named DNA Doe Project. Both use DNA technology to identify unknown victims – the Trans Doe Task Force focuses on identifying transgender victims. Earlier this year, the task force was able to put a name to the victim: Pamela Walton. She was born Lee Allen Walton and adopted by a family in Kentucky. A family fight drove her from her home and she took off for Florida. Little about her life is known after that.
Dr. Anthony Redgrave is a co-Founder of the Trans Doe Task Force – he joined Engage to talk about the case and his organization - along with Lieutenant Tammy Dale of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, who worked Pamela’s case with a dedicated team from the department.
Orlando Valkyries Head Coach Talks About Volleyball and Disney World
The Orlando Valkyries played the Indy Ignite on Sunday in the Professional Volleyball Federation, and while Indy won the match 3 games to 2, the Addition Financial Arena at UCF was packed with energized fans. The league debuted last year with eight teams and joined organizations like the WNBA and LPGA as a top-shelf professional women’s athletic league.
The Valkyries ended the 2024 season in second-to-last place . . . things are going a lot better this season. The team is currently tied for third place, and the team is elevating players that are already superstars in the sport. Players like Brittany Abercrombie and M’Kaela White who were top Division One athletes in college and played professionally overseas now call The City Beautiful home, representing Orlando on the court.
This team is led by veteran coach Amy Pauly – who played for the Alabama Crimson Tide before pursuing a coaching career with top programs like Villanova, Alabama-Birmingham and U-S-C. Pauly joined Engage to talk about the challenges and thrills of starting a professional team from scratch.
